New York is Waiting
by C.A. Bloomfield
Summary: Continuation from the series finale from Claire's point of view. She moves to New York City and eases into her new life by herself. Claire Fisher & Ted Fairwell
1. Chapter 1

Claire pulled her Prius up to what would be her new home, her own New York apartment finally. She got out of the car with excitement and nervousness all at the same time, a feeling of this is where she belongs flushed over her as she went to the outside steps of the apartment building. This was the start of her new life, a life that would hopefully fulfill her dreams of becoming a successful photographer. She walked with one of her boxes up to the 2nd floor of the apartment building, 5B was hers. She unlocked the door to her small, studio apartment and surveyed the room, this really isn't much Claire thought to herself. She was use to living in a big house, of course she had to deal with dead people being in the basement. After finally moving in her belongings, Claire sat down on the worn, wooden floors to take all of her emotions in. She decides to call Ted to let him know she got there safely along with missing him.

Before leaving for New York, her and Ted had not made any promises about staying together due to the long distance. Deep down Claire would of gladly stayed in California for Ted but she would have repeated the same mistake she makes over and over again, it was time for Claire to do what is best for her. It was the first time Claire hadn't let a man dictate what she was going to do with her life and Ted agreed. That was what made Ted so special to Claire, he wasn't going to let her give up on her dreams.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring_ "Hey! How is my big city woman?!"

"I'm okay, just got done bringing everything into the apartment and wanted to let you know I got here safely."

"I'm glad, I miss you like crazy already."

"It's only been a couple of days, you couldn't of missed me that much."

"You really have a hard time believing it don't you. _He laughs._ "

"This is just very surreal to me right now, I'm actually here in New York finally. I've always wanted this but at the same time I feel like there is something missing."

"Like what?"

"You,...my family, …..mostly my mom,"Claire says as she is holding back tears6.

"Don't worry so much, you needed to do this for you."

"I still can't believe I came here with no job prospect, I don't know even where to start looking, how long my trust money is going to last for…7"

"Stop. Don't doubt yourself…... You will be able to figure it out, you're a talented photographer and you'll find something soon."

"I hope so…"

"I know so"

"Well, I guess I'll let you go. I'm going to order some chinese…..try to conform to my new New York lifestyle."

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too….."

As Claire hangs up the phone she tears up again. She knows this is what she needs to do but she is still harboring guilt about leaving her family, mostly her mother after everything that had been going on the last couple of months. As she wiped her eyes she said to herself ,"I can do this". She then found a pamphlet for a chinese delivery place that was hanging outside her door and ordered some delivery. After eating, she laid a sheet on her bare mattress that was in the middle of the living room floor and fell asleep to the noise of police sirens outside her apartment. Claire woke up to loud music blasting from an apartment down the hall, she rolled her eyes and threw her pillow over her face as she was trying to get herself back to sleep. Since it was a Tuesday, Claire figured that the person thought it was ok to blast music at 9:30 am due to everyone usually being at work. Just then Claire started to fluster up with anxiety over not having a job. She slowly removed the pillow from her face and decided it was time to get up instead of staying in bed any longer. I might as well get started on organizing the apartment and unpacking everything, Claire thought to herself.

It was late in the afternoon when Claire decided to take a break from unpacking. She decided to make some popcorn since all she had at the moment was packaged goods. She had finally hooked up the television and decided to watch something on TV while she took a break. As she was flipping through channels, she stops on a funeral home commercial. Her family's funeral home immediately came to her mind, she knew every single space of that house like the back of her hand. She had grown up in that home since she was born and now it was thousands of miles away, existing without her.

After watching some old reruns of _Three's Company_ , Claire decided it was time to go get some actual food at the store instead of relying on bags of popcorn and chips. Then she realized that she wasn't sure where to go to get groceries, this

was only her second day in New York. She had never really had to go grocery shopping due to her mother always doing it back home but now was the realization that she was in charge of everything. Welcome to adult life, Claire thought to herself, it's a bitch. Claire thought what better time than now to explore the city, she'd find a store eventually. She grabbed her camera along with her purse and enthusiastically headed outside her apartment. What awaited her was a brand new world to explore.

Claire arrived back to her apartment around 9:00 pm, feeling familiar to her new life. As she walked in to enter her apartment building she saw a guy with tattoos and shaggy hair walking up the stairs. She curiously looked at him, he seems pretty attractive, she thought to herself. She then wondered if this was the neighbor who had been blasting music earlier in the day. The signs are there Claire thought, tattoos, shaggy hair, and lean body, he has to be a musician or some type of artist. Claire was all too familiar with these types of guys and quickly reminded herself how disinterested she would be in someone like him. Besides, Ted was still in her heart, even though they weren't really together. It was funny to see how Ted, the republican, lawyer who played by the rules was the man that had meant more to Claire than any guy before.

Claire had just finished eating a bowl of spaghetti squash when she heard her phone ring, Ted was calling. She blushed as she picked up the phone, excited to tell him about her day.

"Hey!", Claire grasped while she was smiling

"You sound like you've had a better day"

"I actually went outside of my apartment today to go get groceries and explore the city a little."

"How was it?"

"Well, I apparently live close to a store run by drag queens, who complimented me on my gorgeous red hair."

"They idolize any woman with red hair, it's a drag thing," Ted replied laughing

"What would you know about drags? I bet you've never even seen a drag queen in your life, you'd probably of clammed up and looked down like you were lost if you had been with me," Claire laughed.

"You know me too well"

It was true, Ted was like Gene Hackman's character in the movie _The Birdcage,_ a conservative politician who believes a romantic relationship only exists between a man and a woman. Although, Ted would never say that out loud

or be childish about it.

"Maybe you should come here soon and I can show you one in person," Claire jokingly said to Ted.

"How can I pass that up!? I'm booking the red eye right now,"he joked

"If only…."Claire sighed. Thinking about Ted coming up to New York made Claire feel so happy but it hurt knowing that it wouldn't be permanent.

"Hey...if it were that easy I would of been there with you"

"I know."

"Is it okay if I talk to you tomorrow during lunch? I had a long day at the office and have to already get ready for bed."

"That's fine. I've got nothing but time right now."

"Ok, I love you"

"I love you too."

As Claire ended the phone call her heart sank again. Not only where they thousands of miles apart but even just having phone conversations was hard to do. When they tell each other "I love you", it makes Claire long for him even more. Maybe I should stop saying it, Claire thought. It's not helping either of us to keep saying it when we aren't even a couple anymore, whatever we are anymore. I'm here and he's there, if I keep holding onto him I'll always feel this empty, longing feeling. Claire decided to get her camera and look through some of her photos to get her mind off Ted. New York gave her a lot of inspiration and she felt happy with majority of the shots she had taken. She felt reaffirmed in her decision to come to New York, forgetting about Ted for a moment. While looking through the photos she stopped on one of a mother and her daughter eating ice cream on a bench. Claire then remembered the last thing her and her mom said to each other before she left for New York.

"Thank you for everything and thank you for giving me life," Claire said to her mother.

"You gave me life", said Claire's mother.


	2. Chapter 2

Claire had been in New York now for over 3 weeks and had become very acclimated to her new home. She had hung up her favorite photos around the apartment, including the one she took of Nate with oversized eyes cut out of magazines in place of his actual eyes. She had a normal routine of going around the city looking for job opportunities and handing out her resume and portfolio to all the photography studios she could find.

 _It had only been two weeks,_ Claire thought to herself, _I've been going out every day of the week putting on a happy fucking smile and being fucking proactive!_

The first month's rent was coming up soon but Claire had her trust money from her father to pay for that. Unfortunately, she couldn't always rely on that to keep paying for rent due to it eventually running out. New York is an expensive city, something that was becoming more and more apparent each day for Claire. With each passing day Claire felt more and more frustration due to not hearing anything back from these studios.

 _She knew she was talented, how could they not see that?_

If she didn't hear anything back soon, she might have to resort to a job outside of her career-field. The thought of that made Claire wince, as she had done that previously back home by working in an office, which she hated and had ended badly.

Negative thoughts started creeping into Claire's mind, _what if all this was a mistake? What if you no one hires you and you end up having to work a job that you hate for the rest of your life?_

It's times like this she wished she had something to help her stress. Back home she would usually cure this with drugs and alcohol but she had yet to go out on the town or meet anyone yet.

 _Why did I move somewhere where I don't know anyone!_ Claire threw her hands over her eyes and rubbed them down her face. Claire hadn't thought about smoking since Nate's death but this one was one of those times that she felt as if she needed it desperately.

 _Maybe if I actually enjoyed being around other people I wouldn't feel so miserable._ Claire knew she had a hard time making friends especially here. It didn't help that she had "resting bitch-face" most of the time she was walking in or out of the apartment building. All of her neighbors probably thought she would chew their head off if they spoke to her. Claire seemed hard on the outside, but on the inside she was as sensitive as they came. If only she let people in long enough to know that about her.

 _Knock. Knock._ Claire looked surprisingly at her door as if there were smoke coming out from under it.

"Open up it's an emergency!" yelled some random man on the other side.

Claire wasn't sure if she should open up, _is this legit or is someone trying to rob me and kill me!?_

 _Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Please open up this is not a drill, we need whoever is in there to vacate immediately," the voice was persistent.

Even though Claire thought she might get chopped into little pieces she decided to open up the door since the desperation in his voice had gotten to her.

Claire opens the door ,"What is it?!" Claire says annoyingly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your day miss but there is a gas leak in the building and we need everyone to vacate immediately,"the short, burly man said in a hurry.

"A gas leak? Ummm.. ok. So … I need to leave right now?"

"Yes ma'am, right now!" The man started to get impatient.

"Ok then… Let me grab some stuff and I'll be down," Claire was very hesitant in her response but didn't' feel like she had a choice.

"Please hurry!" The man shouted one last time and then ran up the stairs to the next hall of tenants.

Claire grudgingly went down the stairs and out to the curb to wait with the few tenants who were actually home during the day. She looked around with an annoyed look on her face as she waited to find out when she could finally go back into the building.

Out of the corner of her eye she notices a young guy with shaggy hair and tattoos standing 10 feet away from her. _It's him!_ She thought to herself. _It's that guy I see every now and then in the hall._

Claire had never officially met him but they had glanced at each other in the hall, followed by him flashing a smirk to her once in awhile. Claire was intrigued by him but tried to stay away due to her and Ted along with this guy seeming like just the type of guy Claire would hinge onto.

Although, there wasn't much to be said about her and Ted anyways. They had been conversing back and forth every other day or so but both knew they couldn't be in a relationship with each other because of the distance. Claire had even stopped saying I love you to Ted at the end of phone conversations. There was no her and Ted anymore, besides being friends who happen to love each other. Yet neither of them had officially said it was over to the other.

As Claire is glancing up towards her young neighbor's way she sees that he notices her and gives her a smirk. Claire gives a tiny smirk then looks down, she doesn't want to be completely rude but doesn't want him to come over either. Then she sees him start to come over and moves her head the opposite way as if she has focused on something else.

"Hey neighbor!"the young neighbor says with a smile.

"Hey", says Claire unenthusiastically and with a forced smile.

"I've seen you a couple of times now and still haven't gotten your name, mine is Cory".

"I'm Claire, it's nice to meet you," Claire immediately looks away after she says it.

Cory jokingly goes to the same direction that she turns her face to to further the conversation between him and Claire.

"So.. Claire, you are from California. I've noticed the plates on your car. Why did you move here?" Cory seemed very interested.

"To conquer the big city," Claire says sarcastically. She realizes that she may be coming off too snarky when Cory was being so nice.

"Actually I came here to pursue a career in photography." This was the first time Claire had talked to anyone past the normal " _hello_ " and " _here is my resume that highlights my job skills."_

"That's cool, I'm guessing since you're here right now you haven't gotten any offers."

"Not yet, still trying." Claire wasn't sure what to say back to Cory, this was more in depth than usual for Claire.

"Let's go down the street and get a bite to eat," Cory said to Claire.

Claire couldn't believe they were already going out on a lunch date after a few sentences back and forth. She wanted to say no but literally had nothing else to do right now. If she did say no they would both have to stand there awkwardly until they were allowed back into their apartments. Also, Claire wasn't drowning in friends, so taking up this gesture would be good for her.

"Sure. Let's do it," Claire repeated the phrase back in her head ," _let's do it?",_ and rolled her eyes at herself.

They walked down the street to a pizza place called "Mario's". Claire had walked past it a couple of times but had never gone inside. When they walked in the place was hot with one fan in the corner moving from side to side. There were three other people sitting in the restaurant and one man behind the counter looking bored.

"What will it be?" said the man behind the counter.

"I'll get 2 slices of pepperoni with mushrooms," Cory responded.

Claire wasn't sure what she wanted and was already feeling anxious about sitting down and eating with Cory for the first time. "I'll have the same," she blurted back.

The man quickly went behind the counter with rows of pizza and got them 4 slices. He brought them up to the cash register.

"That will be $8.15,"the cashier said to them.

Cory already had a $10 bill out and gave it to the man. Claire was surprised that he hadn't even asked her if he wanted her to pay or not, he just paid for it without asking. _Why is he being so nice to me? I hope he doesn't think I'm putting out because I'm fucking not. Maybe he thinks I'm so alone and new to the city that he can "befriend" me and then get into my pants._ Claire had already pegged Cory to be nothing more than some guy who was only after her for sex, something Claire was used to. She wasn't used to guys being this nice to her right away without a motive. They sat down at a table near the door and sat in an awkward silence for a couple of seconds before Cory finally said something.

"I like your red hair,"Cory said to her smiling.

"Oh...thanks.." Claire thought that this made things even more awkward.

"I'm sorry, that was really weird to say. I just wasn't sure how to start the conversation," Cory said smiling.

Claire was surprised that he had admitted what he said was weird because it was. The fact that he was being honest really appealed to Claire.

"I'm not so good with talking with people who I barely know either," Claire surprisingly admitted back.

"Great, so we know we don't have to bullshit with each other," Cory said smiling back. _What a relief,_ Claire thought.

"What do your tattoos mean? I can kind of see that one, is there any meaning behind them?"Claire was pointing at his right arm, he had a tattoo that stopped at his elbow.

"This is a bird tattoo, I got it for my mom. It isn't a specific kind but my mom had seen a drawing of this bird in a book and loved it."

"That's cool that your mom is okay with you having tattoos."

"Actually, she passed away over 5 years ago, so she didn't' like them but I got this as a way to remember her."

"I'm really sorry. It's good that you have that to remember her by." Claire didn't know what else to say to him. Sharing that with her made her see him in a different light for a minute. Claire's family knew how to deal with people losing their loved ones well but Claire wasn't. That's why she usually tried to avoid the funeral ceremonies at her house in California. She had to constantly be considerate of other people's feelings in her house that's why it was hard for her to express her own feelings sometimes without feeling guilty about it. This is probably why she had such a hard time getting to know people and letting them in along with her past of bad ex-boyfriends.

For some reason after her and Cory had that moment of him telling her about his mother she seemed more at ease with him. It could be due to being so familiar with death and loss.

"Let's go back and see if we can get inside of our apartments yet." Claire said to Cory.

They both got up and walked back towards the apartments. They saw a van that said "National Grid" on the side and two men in gray uniforms walking around. After standing there for 5 more minutes talking, they told everyone it was safe to go back into their apartments. Before going upstairs, Cory turned to Claire.

"We should go out sometime, not like a date but just as a way to get you out to see the city. I figured you probably don't know a lot of people yet."

"I'd like that." Claire couldn't believe she had actually said yes. But it's not like it was a date or anything, according to Cory. She was tired of being at home every night and needed a push to get out. As Claire entered the inside of her apartment she smiled and felt her cheeks flush. She didn't know if she was happy that she made a friend or she had something to look forward to in this city.


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of days after Claire and Cory had had their impromptu lunch due to the gas leak, Claire was up early on a Saturday feeling anxious once again. Cory had come by the day before to ask Claire if they could go out on Saturday night and Claire had said yes, not wanting to be her usual self and back out. _Maybe I should do my hair different? Should I wear a dress or jeans and a nice shirt, I don't want to seem overly dressed if it's just casual._ Claire was still trying to figure out if this was just a casual outing or if Cory was actually interested in her.

As she was contemplating why she got herself into this she heard her phone ringing. She picked it up and saw "Ted" on the screen. Her stomach immediately felt upset along with feeling happy at the same time.

"Hey!?" Claire wasn't sure if she was happy about him calling.

"Hey, I thought I'd see how you were doing"

"I'm good…..just trying to figure out….. what I'm wearing today?" Claire confusingly thought about why she said that of all things.

"Oh, where are you going?" Ted seem very interested.

"I'm actually going out with a friend I met," Claire said with a cringeworthy look on her face.

"That's good, who is this friend?" Ted asked.

"Someone who actually lives in the same building as me, my neighbor…..his name is Cory."

Claire had been leading up to his name, once she said it she couldn't take it back. She didn't really want to tell Ted but didn't want to lie to him either. Claire tried to rationalize in her head that Ted probably wouldn't care anyways. They weren't together anymore and couldn't be.

"Oh…. that sounds good. Is this like a date?" Ted's tone in his voice seemed crossed.

"No! It is not a date. He knows I'm new to New York and I still haven't gone out yet so he invited me to go out with him." Claire felt as if she had to explain to Ted she wasn't cheating on him even though they weren't a couple.

"Ok.. If it was a date that would be okay," Ted's voice sounded resistant.

"I know it would be," Claire said back with frustration.

"I have to admit, hearing this makes me feel upset but I know I can't claim you."

"Claim me? Is that how you think of this?!" Claire started to get upset, she wasn't sure if it was because she missed Ted or she was frustrated about never having that talk on what "they" were.

"I don't claim you… I said that wrong. I meant since we aren't together anymore I shouldn't get upset about you going on dates."

"At least you fucking said it," Claire said solemnly.

"I haven't wanted to say anything like this because I didn't want it to be true is all. I love you Claire but…. we both already knew this wouldn't work with you being in New York and me here." Ted was right. He was just the first one to finally say it out loud.

Claire felt her eyes start to get teary, _I already knew this, why am I getting so fucking emotional?_

"I know you're right. I guess having to finally realize this is over is something I've tried to avoid." Claire was crying at this point but was trying as hard as she could to not let Ted know.

"Maybe I shouldn't be calling you anymore….I'm just making it worse." Ted said with regret in his voice.

"Maybe that's what we should be doing. Let some time pass….." Claire knew this was what they needed to do but the thought of it made her stomach turn. There was silence for about 30 seconds before Ted said something.

"Claire… having to give you up was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I don't want to do it but I know I have to." Claire sat silent for what seemed like forever, letting what Ted said sink in.

"Me too…. I do love you and I don't want to let you go completely." Claire was now crying so hard that she knew Ted could tell. At this point she didn't care, she was letting it all out.

"I know…... I'm going to have to go Claire…..I love you,bye." Ted's voice was so low by the time he had hung up the phone that Claire wasn't sure when he had actually hung up.

She sobbed into the phone for minute and then laid down on her bed crying so hard into her pillow that she had to continuously catch her breath. Claire hadn't felt this horrible since Nate's death. All Claire wanted to do was sleep away the pain and that's what she did until the sun went down.

It was 6:23 p.m. when Claire woke up, she felt numb. She then realized that Cory was going to pick her up at 7:30 to go out. _I can't open the door like this and tell him I can't go out._ Claire got up and took a quick shower, trying to cover up any evidence of what happened earlier that day. She got out and quickly blow dried her hair along with putting on some makeup. She went with jeans and a flowy, dress shirt that had short sleeves. She looked at the clock again and saw the time was 7:19, _time to spare._

At 7:30 on the dot, _knock knock._ Claire opened the door to a smiling Cory in pants and a black, v-neck t-shirt and his hair in a man bun.

"Let's do this!" He said to her jokingly. Claire smirked at him and followed him outside. She just remembered she only had eggs today when her stomach started growling.

"Let's go get some food," she said to Cory.

"I know just the place, it's thai food."

Claire was still reeling from earlier and at this point was going through the motions. Claire wanted to not feel pain anymore. She wanted alcohol and lots of it.

"How about we try a bar that has food?"

"Sure. I know just the place for that too." Cory said to her smiling.

They took a cab to downtown Manhattan and went to a bar called "Trinity Place Bar & Restaurant." It used to be a bank and was converted into a bar and restaurant. Fortunately, there was no wait, something unheard of on a Saturday night in New York. Claire was glad, she wanted to sit down as soon as possible and order a drink.

Once they got to their table Cory got her chair out for her, _not sure if he is being a gentleman or really wants something else._ At this point, sleeping with Cory started to seem more and more alluring but it was just her hurt emotions talking.

"Hey guys I will be your server for tonight, Mike. What can I get you two to drink?"

"I'll have a Guinness,"said Cory.

Claire wasn't sure what to get, she just needed something to get her drunk. She looked at the cocktail menu trying to find something with hard liquor.

"I'll have the Margarita Pamplemousse please,"Claire saw it had tequila and thought it had an interesting name.

"I'll bring those right out to you,"said the waiter.

"That sounds like an interesting drink,"Cory said with a smirk on his face. Claire was taken in by his green eyes and naturally, straight smile.

"It sounded good," When Claire smiled at him she actually showed her teeth this time.

They were looking over the menu, while the waiter brought over their drinks. As soon as the waiter put her drink down Claire took a big sip of it. Cory had not noticed so Claire took another big sip.

"What would you two like to order" said the waiter.

"I'll have the kobe burger," said Cory.

"And for you miss?"

"I'll have… the..ahi tuna and soba noodle salad." said Claire

"I'll have those right out for you,"said the waiter.

"Could I have another pamplemousse please?" Claire asked with a smile, she was already feeling buzzed after the first one. The waiter brought Claire her drink. Claire took another big sip while Cory drank his beer slowly.

"After this I'll take you to a bar bar, we can get some cheap shots."

"I woulddd….. lovveee thattttt", Claire said back to Cory smiling even wider due to her alcohol induced happiness.

By the time their food got to them Claire was past being buzzed and was venturing into drunk. She seemed more focused on her drink more than her food but would eats little pieces of her ahi tuna after a couple of sips of her cocktail. Cory started noticing that Claire was getting more inebriated throughout their dinner. By the time Cory was finished with his food Claire was on her fourth cocktail.

"Let's go to that bar you were talking about!" Claire was definitely excited now and was completely out of her shell.

"Are you sure you want to go Claire? If you want I can just take you home." Cory could tell Claire was drunk and didn't want to take advantage of her or force her to drink more.

"No way! We are….we'reee….going to that bar. The last thing I want to do is go home."Claire said as she was rolling her eyes.

Claire grabbed a waiter's arm, not their waiter, and asked for their check. Once again, before she could even offer Cory got out his wallet to pay but at this point Claire probably wouldn't have even noticed the check. Once they paid, Cory walked Claire on his arm, she was hanging onto it like she would a purse down a dark alley. He didn't want to hurt Claire's feelings by taking her home so he followed her wishes and took her to the bar.

After walking a couple of blocks they found the bar, Lou's Corner. The place was packed and Claire was stumbling through the crowd of people to find a place to sit. Luckily, some of Cory's friends were there too and already had a booth for them to sit at.

"Hey guys! This is Claire, she's my neighbor and is from California."

"Hey Claire," said the group of guys.

"Nice to meet you," Claire said with a happy, drunk look on her face.

Cory tried to get Claire to sit down with his friends so she wouldn't be stumbling around. Claire though wanted to get more drinks and managed to squeeze away and go right up to the bar and order some shots for everyone to take. Round after round after round, Claire had gotten so drunk that she had continuously started laughing at nothing. Her fair face was red and she kept falling out from the booth the guys were sitting at. Cory decided he was going to take her home and felt bad about how drunk Claire had gotten. He could tell that she was trying to use alcohol as a way to suppress her feelings, something she was very good at.

"Claire I'm going to take you home now." Cory said to Claire as he was grasping her back with his hand.

"No… Corryyy..nooo" Claire kept slurring her words.

"I know you might get mad at me but I need to" Cory slipped his arm around Claire's waist and hoisted her up. For a minute it seemed as if Claire was going to say something but surprisingly didn't. She gave in and allowed him to take her as she was in her induced alcohol daze. Cory hailed for a cab and one came to them right away. He put Claire in first and then got in on the other side of the cab.

Claire slowly fell onto Cory's lap, he thought she had passed out but she would move her arms around as if she was trying to get comfortable. Claire eventually just lied there and started to feel the unhappy side of being drunk, she started to think about Ted again. All of a sudden while her head was in Cory's lap, Claire started to tear up.

"Claire, are you okay?"

Claire didn't say anything and just continued to cry. After 10 long minutes they got to their apartment building.

"We are here Claire, can you get up or do you want me to get you?" Cory wasn't angry at Claire at all, he was genuinely concerned and spoke to her softly to not upset her more.

Claire still did not respond. Cory gently lifted her up and gently helped her out of the cab. He hoisted his arm around her waist as he did before to help her up the stairs to her apartment. Claire was still crying when they got to her door so Cory searched for her keys and found them eventually in her purse. He gently carried her to her bed and sat down with her.

As he watched Claire crying he put his hand on her back again and started to rub it gently back and forth.

"Claire, it's going to be okay."

Claire continued to cry. While she cried, Cory laid beside her holding her from behind, being there for her. Eventually after 15 minutes Claire cried herself to sleep. After she fell asleep, Cory went into her living room and went to sleep on her small couch. He decided to stay until she woke up to make sure she was okay. Even though the small couch was uncomfortable he didn't want to give Claire the impression that he wanted to sleep with her by sleeping in bed with her. Cory was becoming Claire's first real friend in New York along with being one of the few people to see Claire at her worst.


End file.
